WEBVTT 00:00:07.666 --> 00:00:12.400 It's always fascinating to me how things line up sometimes. 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:26.000 The passage I'm studying in my personal life, it also aligns with what I'm studying to prepare for Sunday, which also aligns with things I'm wrestling with personally, spiritually, and also aligns with things that are happening in our church. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:40.500 But then also when it's things happening in our culture, it's always amazing to me when that happens and it's not all the time, but when that happens, it seems to me God is trying to say something to us, trying to get our attention in a unique way. 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:49.633 I think this is one of those weeks, and I'm going to comment on the situation with Charlie Kirk's murder later in the message. 00:00:49.633 --> 00:00:55.332 I'm up because I want to make sure my comments about that are rooted in Scripture. 00:00:55.332 --> 00:01:01.066 You know, that's that's our burden as a church to make sure hopefully we're being faithful with God's Word. 00:01:01.066 --> 00:01:11.233 Hopefully everything we say, do, believe, put forward is rooted in God's Word, not just a reaction based on momentary feelings and and all that. 00:01:11.233 --> 00:01:16.332 I want to make sure we're rooted in, in Scripture and especially in the message of today's passage. It's very timely. 00:01:18.766 --> 00:01:29.733 Because Paul is saying to a group of people, a new church, young believers who've likely gotten discouraged, the gospel is still advancing forward. 00:01:30.099 --> 00:01:41.266 You may feel like in the moment, things that have happened that aren't great in your city at that time, and you feel like you've taken two steps forward, and now we're taking a step back. 00:01:41.266 --> 00:01:43.165 But the gospel still moves forward. 00:01:43.165 --> 00:01:46.132 The mission still moves forward. 00:01:46.132 --> 00:01:57.433 There's a famous story or situation from World War two, where the Great Britain had been advancing in France and Germany, moving towards the German army. 00:01:57.433 --> 00:02:04.099 But then they had a big setback, and they had to evacuate somewhere around 300,000 of their soldiers. 00:02:05.132 --> 00:02:11.866 And of course, they celebrated that we rescued 300,000 of our soldiers from Dunkirk. 00:02:11.866 --> 00:02:14.900 There's been a whole movie down on it recently. 00:02:14.900 --> 00:02:16.366 The the who wouldn't be glad. 00:02:16.366 --> 00:02:19.532 Thank you that we rescue them and live to fight another day. 00:02:19.532 --> 00:02:26.665 But then Churchill, of course, speaks up and says, but don't forget, wars are not won through retreat. 00:02:28.165 --> 00:02:30.233 We still have to go back and fight. 00:02:30.233 --> 00:02:31.966 We still have to advance. 00:02:31.966 --> 00:02:34.000 The mission has to continue forward. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:35.265 That's great. 00:02:35.265 --> 00:02:38.532 It's great that happened, but it's got to keep pressing forward. 00:02:38.532 --> 00:02:40.733 And this is the message we're going to hear from Paul today. 00:02:40.733 --> 00:02:52.633 The gospel keeps advancing even when it seems that things aren't going the way they should, even when it seems the enemy is winning, even when things aren't going right in life, the gospel still advances. 00:02:52.633 --> 00:02:57.866 The mission of the gospel still moves forward, and we've got to stay focused on that. 00:02:57.866 --> 00:03:00.300 So we're going to be in the book of Philippians today. 00:03:00.300 --> 00:03:04.000 We started a series in the book of Philippians a couple of weeks ago. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:11.133 If you have a church Bible that'll be on page 921 in your church Bible, if you don't have a Bible, we always have those out in the lobby for you. 00:03:11.133 --> 00:03:13.900 Feel free to slip out any time and grab one. You can keep that. 00:03:14.966 --> 00:03:17.265 That's for you to have and to be able to read from. 00:03:17.265 --> 00:03:22.199 We want you turning in God's Word and reading from it while we study His Word together. 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:25.765 And we want you to continue to read and study it on your own throughout the week. 00:03:25.765 --> 00:03:26.466 Read ahead. 00:03:26.466 --> 00:03:30.099 Saturate yourself in the book of Philippians over these months. 00:03:30.099 --> 00:03:31.966 Know the book of Philippians very well. 00:03:31.966 --> 00:03:41.265 I believe God has messages for us in this book for our church in this time that are very specific for this church. 00:03:41.265 --> 00:03:49.032 Where Paul is going to start in this passage is by reminding them about the good, the two steps forward, the things they should be celebrating. 00:03:49.032 --> 00:03:52.466 An enthusiastic church, a young church has things to celebrate. 00:03:52.466 --> 00:03:54.500 So let's look at these two steps forward. 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:57.265 Let's start in verse 12 of Philippians chapter one. 00:03:57.265 --> 00:03:58.765 I'm going to read the first couple of verses here. 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:01.366 Verse 12. 00:04:01.366 --> 00:04:17.533 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole Imperial Guard and all the rest, that my imprisonment is for Christ. 00:04:18.432 --> 00:04:26.565 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 00:04:28.266 --> 00:04:35.432 Now, the first thing to note about his address to them, before he starts to highlight the ways the gospel has continued to advance forward. 00:04:35.432 --> 00:04:38.699 The first thing to note is that he calls them brothers. 00:04:38.699 --> 00:04:40.065 Brothers. 00:04:40.065 --> 00:04:44.065 And that term, when used in Scripture, is often also translated. 00:04:44.065 --> 00:04:48.533 Maybe in some of your Bibles it might say, brothers and sisters, that's an appropriate way to translate that word. 00:04:48.533 --> 00:04:53.533 It's it's like if I say to the whole church, I'm talking to all you guys. 00:04:53.533 --> 00:04:55.665 I don't mean just the men in the room. 00:04:55.665 --> 00:04:56.733 That means everyone. 00:04:56.733 --> 00:05:00.699 Now, I would never say she's a great guy, right? That didn't make sense. 00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:03.665 Because if I use guy in the singular, I'm referring to a man. 00:05:03.665 --> 00:05:07.065 But when I say guys, I could be referring to a whole group of people. 00:05:07.065 --> 00:05:08.432 And it's the same way here. 00:05:08.432 --> 00:05:09.733 He calls them brothers. 00:05:09.733 --> 00:05:11.432 It can be translated brothers and sisters. 00:05:11.432 --> 00:05:12.466 Here's the point, though. 00:05:13.432 --> 00:05:20.233 Oftentimes in Scripture, when Christians are referring to other Christians, family language is used. 00:05:20.733 --> 00:05:23.266 They're referred to as family. 00:05:23.266 --> 00:05:25.333 This reminds us of studying the book of Proverbs. 00:05:25.333 --> 00:05:27.865 There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 00:05:27.865 --> 00:05:33.333 There is a friend who is actually closer than family because of our relationship in Christ. 00:05:33.333 --> 00:05:46.466 There's something that happens here in church when you connect with another Christian, when you connect deeply with them, there's something that happens that is even more of a connection than even your very family. 00:05:46.665 --> 00:05:48.665 And many of you could attest to that. 00:05:48.665 --> 00:05:57.600 You could say, God has brought other believers into my life, and they have become closer than the ones God God gave me just through family. 00:05:58.266 --> 00:06:00.333 Something powerful is happening there. 00:06:01.333 --> 00:06:05.766 So he calls them brothers, calls them sisters, speaks to them as family. 00:06:06.100 --> 00:06:11.300 But he says to them, what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 00:06:11.300 --> 00:06:19.966 So keep in mind this is Paul's letter to a church who had given him a gift for the mission work he's doing now. 00:06:19.966 --> 00:06:20.665 He's a missionary. 00:06:20.665 --> 00:06:21.899 He's traveling about it. 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:22.665 Send him a gift. 00:06:22.665 --> 00:06:24.766 He's writing them a thank you note. 00:06:24.766 --> 00:06:30.966 And of course, if a missionary I'm supporting ends up in prison, I want to know a little more about that situation. 00:06:30.966 --> 00:06:31.966 Tell me a little more. 00:06:31.966 --> 00:06:33.800 What's going on? How are you doing? 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:34.733 How did you end up there? 00:06:34.733 --> 00:06:36.165 I hope it was for good reasons. 00:06:36.165 --> 00:06:37.500 Not bad. What? 00:06:37.500 --> 00:06:38.699 How can we pray for you? 00:06:38.699 --> 00:06:40.399 How can we continue to come alongside you? 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:41.899 Is your ministry still existing? 00:06:41.899 --> 00:06:43.432 Should we keep giving or not? 00:06:43.432 --> 00:06:44.533 You're gonna have a lot of questions. 00:06:45.565 --> 00:06:48.766 And I love how Paul addresses all of these. 00:06:48.865 --> 00:06:58.932 All he says the only thing he refers to about his imprisonment is he just says that thing that happened to me, what has happened to me. 00:06:58.932 --> 00:07:00.432 And here's what happens. 00:07:00.432 --> 00:07:03.432 It's served to advance the gospel. 00:07:04.365 --> 00:07:07.699 You know, Paul doesn't spend any time talking about prison. 00:07:07.699 --> 00:07:15.966 He doesn't give any attention to maybe the conditions, the sleeping arrangement, the food, the prison guards, the quality of the internet connection. 00:07:15.966 --> 00:07:17.199 He doesn't get into any of that. 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:18.932 He doesn't address it at all. 00:07:18.932 --> 00:07:28.233 And to be assured, if I were in prison and I was writing you a letter about it, that most of it would be about that, here are the conditions here, how horrible they are, how I'm being mistreated. 00:07:28.233 --> 00:07:29.733 How in the world did this happen? 00:07:29.733 --> 00:07:30.533 On and on and on. 00:07:31.966 --> 00:07:36.132 And all Paul says is, yeah, this happened. 00:07:36.132 --> 00:07:39.865 And it brings about the advancement of the gospel. 00:07:39.865 --> 00:07:41.833 He's focused on the mission. 00:07:41.833 --> 00:07:43.199 It doesn't matter what happened to me. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:46.199 The gospel goes forward. 00:07:47.065 --> 00:07:49.033 Tim Keller has this phrase that I love. 00:07:49.033 --> 00:07:53.800 When I read things like this, it reminds me of he calls it blessed self forgetfulness. 00:07:54.533 --> 00:07:57.533 You know, he's not worried about himself. 00:07:57.865 --> 00:08:00.632 It's almost like he's forgotten about himself in a in a healthy way. 00:08:00.632 --> 00:08:06.533 He's not preoccupied with self, is more worried about the gospel more worried about the mission. 00:08:06.533 --> 00:08:15.766 Now he says two things about how it has advanced, how it has moved forward at first is it has advanced broadly in your notes outline. 00:08:15.766 --> 00:08:17.065 That's that first category. 00:08:17.065 --> 00:08:18.699 It has spread broadly. 00:08:18.699 --> 00:08:20.132 Look back at verse 13. 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:24.899 What has happened to me is really served to advance the gospel, to push it forward. 00:08:24.899 --> 00:08:32.865 So that it has become known throughout the whole Imperial guard and all the rest, that my imprisonment is for Christ. 00:08:32.865 --> 00:08:36.500 So the whole Imperial guard, the whole pretorian guard. 00:08:36.500 --> 00:08:42.299 Some would say that was maybe more of the elite of the Roman soldiers, maybe like we would consider officers. 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:47.332 These would have been maybe more of a hardened group, hard shell to crack. 00:08:47.332 --> 00:08:50.000 And Paul is saying this is to be celebrated. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.133 These are people who now have heard the gospel. 00:08:52.133 --> 00:08:56.299 Would they have heard the gospel apart from me being in prison? 00:08:56.299 --> 00:08:58.533 God use that to reach this group. 00:08:58.533 --> 00:09:00.299 It's hard to reach. 00:09:00.299 --> 00:09:04.799 Not only that, but it says to the rest of the brothers now or to the rest. 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:07.000 Also, we don't know exactly who that is. 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:12.365 Some speculate that that's probably other people that the Philippians knew broadly and had been praying for. 00:09:12.365 --> 00:09:15.399 But the point here is the gospel has spread broadly. 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:19.533 It has gone throughout the immediate known Earth at that time. 00:09:19.533 --> 00:09:23.232 But even now we can say the gospel has gone throughout the world. 00:09:24.732 --> 00:09:32.265 I mean, think of a person's name that is more well known throughout the world than the name of Jesus. 00:09:32.365 --> 00:09:40.332 You can go to the most remote parts of the earth, and there oftentimes will be people there who have heard the name of Jesus. 00:09:40.332 --> 00:09:41.466 They may not believe in him. 00:09:41.466 --> 00:09:43.566 They may not know everything about him. 00:09:43.566 --> 00:09:49.332 They may not understand all that he did, but they likely have many times have heard his name. 00:09:49.332 --> 00:10:00.865 We were in this remote village in Rwanda once, which is this tiny country in the middle of Africa, and we end up in this hut to have a meal and a sit down at the chair. 00:10:01.033 --> 00:10:05.865 And I look up and there's a picture of Jesus on the wall. 00:10:05.865 --> 00:10:07.365 Now, right next to him was Tupac. 00:10:07.365 --> 00:10:09.100 I'm not sure why they had those together. 00:10:10.066 --> 00:10:13.666 It was kind of like what I didn't quite understand. 00:10:13.732 --> 00:10:16.033 But Jesus, his name is everywhere. 00:10:16.033 --> 00:10:18.932 He is known throughout the world. 00:10:18.932 --> 00:10:21.932 His name has spread. 00:10:21.932 --> 00:10:28.000 And Paul says, I can rejoice that my imprisonment has led to the advance of the gospel. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:29.899 It's spread broadly first and foremost. 00:10:29.899 --> 00:10:32.166 Now look here secondly at what it says. 00:10:32.166 --> 00:10:34.200 Look at verse 14. 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:40.166 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 00:10:40.166 --> 00:10:43.166 So it spread broadly. 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:49.365 But secondly, the second step forward is that it also emboldened the brothers to speak the Word of God without fear. 00:10:49.365 --> 00:10:54.932 It embolden people who are already Christians to to continue to advance the gospel. 00:10:54.932 --> 00:11:01.865 So not only did Paul spread the gospel, others looked at his example and said, we need to be doing that too, because you're in prison now. 00:11:01.865 --> 00:11:06.000 I feel more courageous to spread the gospel because of your sacrifice. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:09.232 I feel like God is calling me to do that as well. 00:11:11.865 --> 00:11:13.633 Emboldened. 00:11:13.633 --> 00:11:16.432 Encouraged. 00:11:16.432 --> 00:11:26.865 This is why we can't just look at the face value of any given situation and make a quick determination about what it means, and I'm not even talking about the Charlie Kirk situation yet. 00:11:26.865 --> 00:11:36.765 You've all had this happen in your life where something bad has happened to you, or someone you know around you could be the loss of a job, could be the loss of a relationship. 00:11:36.765 --> 00:11:40.066 Could have been that a ministry you had a vision for fell apart. 00:11:40.066 --> 00:11:44.265 And at the moment you thought everything is over. 00:11:44.265 --> 00:11:47.265 Life seems to have ended. 00:11:47.865 --> 00:11:51.666 And then a little time passes and you see God had a different plan. 00:11:51.666 --> 00:11:54.533 He actually had something better in mind for me. 00:11:54.533 --> 00:11:57.466 I'm not talking about every situation, but you've had those moments. 00:11:57.466 --> 00:12:00.799 That job ended and you realize that was actually a good thing. 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:03.466 I'm actually in a better place now. 00:12:03.466 --> 00:12:06.066 He has a plan that I couldn't see at the time. 00:12:08.666 --> 00:12:27.332 And one of the consequences or results of Paul being in prison is that it led to others being inspired to speak the Word of God boldly, without fear, courageously to continue to advance the gospel. 00:12:28.966 --> 00:12:34.799 And as I thought about the situation with Charlie Kirk, and if you don't know who he is, we'll have a photo of him up on the screen. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:37.533 He's a political social commentator. 00:12:37.533 --> 00:12:40.232 I don't know all of his political views. 00:12:40.232 --> 00:12:43.066 I'm not necessarily endorsing every view he had. 00:12:43.066 --> 00:12:55.799 I didn't follow him all that closely, but I did watch a number of his videos over the years of him interacting with college students, especially trying to correct their crazy views about the world, trying to point them to truth. 00:12:55.799 --> 00:13:01.666 And one thing I always admired about him is he was very clear, first and foremost, the most important thing in my life is Jesus. 00:13:03.966 --> 00:13:07.166 You don't always hear people be that direct about that, even if that's what they believe. 00:13:07.166 --> 00:13:10.332 And there's reasons to maybe not put that. 00:13:10.332 --> 00:13:18.700 First and foremost, I get that I'm not criticizing those who make their faith, maybe not as prominent in as others, but he made that first and foremost. 00:13:18.700 --> 00:13:21.700 He was very public and bold about it. 00:13:22.966 --> 00:13:38.066 I think some of us, when we hear and he was shot and murdered this week in Utah when he was on a campus interacting with college students, doing what he always does, I think some of us would be tempted when we hear that to go now, the world is not safe for me. 00:13:38.100 --> 00:13:40.566 Now I need to retreat. 00:13:40.566 --> 00:13:44.799 Now I need to make sure I'm not putting myself or my family or anyone else in that kind of danger. 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:46.100 Like like Charlie did. 00:13:48.732 --> 00:13:55.365 I didn't know Charlie personally, but I guarantee you that he would plead with you not to do that. 00:13:55.365 --> 00:13:59.000 I guarantee you that he would say, because of what I suffered. 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:03.399 Now go and speak the word more, more boldly, without fear. 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:05.100 That would be his encouragement. 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:07.600 Don't let that turn you towards fear. 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:08.633 Don't let that increase. 00:14:08.633 --> 00:14:09.332 That's what the enemy. 00:14:09.332 --> 00:14:12.432 Once he wants more anxiety in your life, more fear. 00:14:12.432 --> 00:14:15.432 Listen, none of us are promised safety. 00:14:16.166 --> 00:14:20.399 We don't come here to church today to preach safety. 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:25.200 When the gospel advances, it's almost always accompanied by persecution. 00:14:25.633 --> 00:14:29.033 We should not be surprised or shocked by persecution. 00:14:29.033 --> 00:14:30.466 We should expect it. 00:14:30.466 --> 00:14:31.399 We don't go looking for it. 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:32.732 I'm not trying to create it. 00:14:32.732 --> 00:14:33.666 I sure don't want it. 00:14:34.966 --> 00:14:37.100 But I shouldn't be surprised. 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:40.966 And it shouldn't cause fear and retreat and anxiety. 00:14:40.966 --> 00:14:42.600 It shouldn't cause me to go inward. 00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:45.600 More like with Paul. 00:14:45.865 --> 00:14:48.066 It should embolden God. 00:14:48.066 --> 00:14:53.566 Would you give us the courage to speak your word without fear more boldly in love? 00:14:53.566 --> 00:14:54.466 Kindly. 00:14:54.466 --> 00:14:55.932 That's one thing I admired about him. 00:14:55.932 --> 00:14:58.365 All his interactions were out of respect. 00:14:58.365 --> 00:15:00.332 He never put anyone down. 00:15:00.332 --> 00:15:01.100 He was clear. 00:15:01.100 --> 00:15:06.765 He was truthful. He was direct, but always out of respect, respecting the other person. 00:15:06.765 --> 00:15:09.765 That's so rare to see. 00:15:10.365 --> 00:15:15.600 Man, speak the Word of God more boldly without fear. 00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:17.966 These are the steps forward. 00:15:17.966 --> 00:15:20.432 Paul says, listen, I'm in prison. 00:15:20.432 --> 00:15:23.100 Here's what we can celebrate now. 00:15:23.100 --> 00:15:30.899 The reality is, though, what happens in a young church in particular, oftentimes we talked about this last week. 00:15:30.899 --> 00:15:34.365 You get a few years down the road and things aren't as exciting as they were at first. 00:15:34.365 --> 00:15:37.633 And now all of a sudden, I'm struggling with sin in ways I thought I'd be done with. 00:15:37.633 --> 00:15:39.566 And I've lost some of that enthusiasm. 00:15:39.566 --> 00:15:42.600 And then what starts to happen within that church? 00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:44.966 There's some immaturity, there's some poor decisions. 00:15:44.966 --> 00:15:46.332 Relationships get strained. 00:15:46.332 --> 00:15:48.466 And so Paul points out a couple of things. 00:15:48.466 --> 00:15:51.466 This step backward that seems to be the missions advancing. 00:15:51.466 --> 00:15:53.200 And now it seems we're taking a step backward. 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:54.700 Let's look at what he highlights here. 00:15:54.700 --> 00:15:56.466 Look at verse 15 through 17. 00:15:58.865 --> 00:16:06.166 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 00:16:06.166 --> 00:16:10.232 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 00:16:10.232 --> 00:16:22.700 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:25.033 So they seem to be taking a step back. 00:16:25.033 --> 00:16:32.399 And there's a couple of words here that specifically describe what is happening in this young church. 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:36.666 Struggling with immaturity, struggling with challenges in relationships. 00:16:36.666 --> 00:16:39.666 One of the words he uses here is rivalry. 00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:45.566 You might call it in-fighting, might call it division. 00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:48.100 That's not what you want in a church. 00:16:48.100 --> 00:16:52.066 It's amazing how churches will split over the smallest thing. 00:16:52.066 --> 00:16:54.500 Look, rivalries great in sports. 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:55.966 That's a lot of fun. 00:16:55.966 --> 00:16:56.932 We love it at our house. 00:16:56.932 --> 00:17:00.066 When UK and U of L play, I went to U of L, Julie went to UK. 00:17:00.066 --> 00:17:02.100 We love it. It's it turns into a rivalry. 00:17:02.100 --> 00:17:03.232 There's lots of trash talking. 00:17:03.232 --> 00:17:04.000 It's a lot of fun. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:05.000 Except when UK wins. 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:08.900 That's not as much fun for me but the idea is fun. That's great. 00:17:08.900 --> 00:17:09.766 That's great. In sports. 00:17:09.766 --> 00:17:10.833 That's not good in church. 00:17:12.900 --> 00:17:17.032 Go card somebody thank you for standing up for me in my home. 00:17:17.032 --> 00:17:19.099 Yeah. Listen, that's not what you want. 00:17:19.099 --> 00:17:21.500 You don't want infighting. 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:32.665 A friend of mine told me about how his whole denomination was birthed out of an argument in the brethren movement about whether it was appropriate or not too showy to wear buttons or not. 00:17:32.665 --> 00:17:39.799 You know, this was hundreds of years ago, like buttons, we will divide over anything. 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:42.665 Color the paint, color the carpet, whether you should wear buttons or not. 00:17:42.665 --> 00:17:44.599 What? How? 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:47.465 It seems like we're hard wired to divide. 00:17:47.465 --> 00:17:51.432 And Paul is saying, that's not that's not what should be the case. 00:17:51.432 --> 00:17:54.165 That's not what should be descriptive of the church. 00:17:54.165 --> 00:17:55.165 There's rivalry. 00:17:55.165 --> 00:17:57.133 But then the other word he use is envy. 00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:01.266 And that word envy. 00:18:01.266 --> 00:18:04.000 That is such a difficult word to process. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:14.865 We talked about it in first Peter, but I ran across this quote in your I put it in your notes that I want you to see, because it highlights just how insidious envy is. 00:18:14.865 --> 00:18:16.500 Look at this quote here. 00:18:16.500 --> 00:18:18.099 It says the envious. 00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:19.566 And this is from Joseph Heller. 00:18:19.566 --> 00:18:20.665 He wrote a Bible commentary. 00:18:20.665 --> 00:18:28.200 The envious are concerned more to deprive another of the desired thing than to gain it themselves. 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:29.532 This is how messed up envy is. 00:18:29.532 --> 00:18:31.865 It's not just that I want that thing that you have. 00:18:31.865 --> 00:18:37.133 I want to make sure what I want more than wanting it, is to make sure you don't have it. 00:18:37.133 --> 00:18:40.599 I want more that you suffer because you have it. 00:18:40.599 --> 00:18:44.900 Then for me to even get it, there's more. 00:18:44.900 --> 00:18:45.932 Look at what else he says. 00:18:45.932 --> 00:18:47.165 This is how bad it gets. 00:18:47.165 --> 00:18:49.099 It involves sadness. 00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:54.500 When good things happen to others, joy at the evils they experience. 00:18:54.500 --> 00:18:59.732 Thus the opposite of rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, which is a quote from Romans 12. 00:18:59.732 --> 00:19:08.099 So envy is so terrible it says, not only do I not want you to have that thing, and I want that more than I actually want it. 00:19:08.099 --> 00:19:11.266 I also want you to suffer because you have it. 00:19:11.266 --> 00:19:17.099 I want you to experience evil because you have that thing that I haven't been able to have. 00:19:19.099 --> 00:19:25.200 That is something that should never be a word used to describe anyone in church. 00:19:26.865 --> 00:19:29.365 It never should be. 00:19:29.365 --> 00:19:32.266 And where envy starts, it starts deep in here. 00:19:32.266 --> 00:19:32.965 Here's where it starts. 00:19:32.965 --> 00:19:36.799 It starts with I want that, I want that thing. 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:39.099 It might even start from a good place. 00:19:39.099 --> 00:19:40.133 I'd really like that. 00:19:40.133 --> 00:19:42.965 That thing, that person, that relationship. 00:19:44.266 --> 00:19:46.400 But then it grows into covetousness. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:47.232 It grows into. 00:19:47.232 --> 00:19:49.432 And I have to have it to be happy. 00:19:49.432 --> 00:19:51.465 If God loves me, he will give it to me. 00:19:51.465 --> 00:19:53.599 You see, the progress that happens, the progression. 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:56.000 Now I have to hate others who get it when I don't. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:58.232 And look, that happens in middle school. 00:19:58.232 --> 00:20:02.066 We all know that, but we grow out of that, especially as we grow in Christ. 00:20:02.066 --> 00:20:14.532 And so here's what you need to do today if you are harboring any bitterness in your heart, any unforgiveness, any covetousness, deal with that today. 00:20:16.432 --> 00:20:17.299 Don't let it linger. 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:26.900 Don't let it grow past that into envy and division and rivalry. Deal with that today, search your heart and ask. 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:28.799 Even as I'm preaching, just ask God. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:34.365 God, is there any unforgiveness or bitterness in my heart towards anyone? 00:20:34.365 --> 00:20:36.532 Would you expose that to us today? 00:20:36.532 --> 00:20:41.633 Our church will not grow past your personal bitterness. It won't. 00:20:42.865 --> 00:20:44.900 That'll be a huge hindrance. 00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:47.365 I don't have anybody in particular in mind. 00:20:47.365 --> 00:20:51.232 I'm not trying to target anyone with that other than my own heart. 00:20:51.232 --> 00:21:00.965 Look, it's there too. God, would you expose that in our hearts today. Don't let us continue to just delight in that and to continue to keep it to ourselves and to continue to think it's okay. 00:21:00.965 --> 00:21:03.965 It's not. 00:21:04.066 --> 00:21:05.365 We want to be known as the church. 00:21:05.365 --> 00:21:08.732 And here's the word that should be used instead. 00:21:09.665 --> 00:21:13.665 A church should not be known as envious, as rivalrous. 00:21:13.665 --> 00:21:14.633 It should be known. 00:21:14.633 --> 00:21:22.865 And look in your notes. Instead, we should be known differently by our love for one another, because the blank I skipped over before that. 00:21:22.865 --> 00:21:26.365 The most troubling part is that Paul calls them brothers. 00:21:26.365 --> 00:21:27.865 He does call them brothers. 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:34.299 It is true that Christians can sin. 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:40.066 It is true that Christians might cause harm toward you. 00:21:41.900 --> 00:21:54.900 And so if you come to Valley View expecting that this will be a place of perfection and that no one will ever wrong you, and that if anyone does, you have to storm out and say, I told you so. 00:21:54.900 --> 00:21:56.232 Someone will wrong you here. 00:21:56.232 --> 00:21:59.200 If you're here any amount of time, someone will sin against you. 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:05.665 Our hope is, though, that we will also correct that in love through Christ we will seek forgiveness. 00:22:05.665 --> 00:22:08.732 We will see the gospel played out in a powerful way that you don't. 00:22:08.732 --> 00:22:11.732 You don't get in the rest of life. 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:14.766 I know I'm making a strong case for why you should come to church here. 00:22:17.566 --> 00:22:20.900 It's true though our heart. 00:22:20.900 --> 00:22:27.965 If we're not focused on the mission, if we're not focused on advancing the gospel, this is where it hits. Rivalry. 00:22:27.965 --> 00:22:37.633 In fact, the way he described what they were after in verse 17, the former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 00:22:37.633 --> 00:22:42.965 Other Christians, because Paul was in prison, were thinking, now is my chance to shine. 00:22:42.965 --> 00:22:46.700 Now is my chance to show off how great I will be at ministry. 00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:49.400 Paul was okay, but he was getting too much attention. 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:52.665 I'm the one that should have been getting the attention and he's off the scene now. 00:22:52.665 --> 00:22:54.000 Now is my chance. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:56.532 And also, by the way, I hope he hears about it and it hurts him. 00:22:59.532 --> 00:23:00.400 It's not where we want to be. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:03.000 Instead, we want to be known for love. 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:04.232 That verse I've listed there, 00:23:04.232 --> 00:23:10.365 35 people will know you're my disciples by this, by your love for one another. 00:23:10.365 --> 00:23:15.099 That's what will stand out to the world when we love each other well. Not even the world. 00:23:15.099 --> 00:23:17.700 It's talking about our love for one another when we love each other. 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:18.566 Well, people. 00:23:18.566 --> 00:23:21.833 People look and they say that that's that's not normal. 00:23:21.833 --> 00:23:23.232 Something is going on there. 00:23:23.232 --> 00:23:24.799 I got to know what's happening there. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:25.965 Would you tell me more? 00:23:25.965 --> 00:23:31.365 When your neighbor sees you loving on another Christian, they go, how do I get that? 00:23:31.365 --> 00:23:32.165 I don't have that. 00:23:32.165 --> 00:23:35.165 I want some of that in my life. 00:23:35.266 --> 00:23:36.700 That's why it's important to be here. 00:23:36.700 --> 00:23:38.532 Do you want to proclaim the gospel to others? 00:23:38.532 --> 00:23:41.566 Start by loving the people who are here right now. 00:23:41.566 --> 00:23:45.865 Love one another well, and that'll open the door to the gospel in amazing ways. 00:23:47.865 --> 00:23:52.865 So Paul says, yeah, we've had two steps forward, and it seems there's one step back. 00:23:52.865 --> 00:23:55.165 In fact, I'm being attacked. 00:23:55.165 --> 00:23:59.365 People hope that I hurt because of the way they're falsely preaching the gospel. 00:23:59.365 --> 00:24:02.365 Even people he would call Christians. 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:04.599 How does he respond to that? 00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:06.900 How does Paul respond to that? 00:24:06.900 --> 00:24:09.032 I know how I would respond. 00:24:09.032 --> 00:24:10.799 How does Paul respond? 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:13.766 Look at verse 18. 00:24:13.766 --> 00:24:15.099 What then? 00:24:15.099 --> 00:24:16.932 Yeah, that's his way of saying, so what? 00:24:16.932 --> 00:24:18.633 What do you mean, what should we think? 00:24:18.633 --> 00:24:20.066 How should I feel? 00:24:20.066 --> 00:24:21.099 What does this all mean? 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:23.232 What then? 00:24:23.232 --> 00:24:30.932 Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. 00:24:30.932 --> 00:24:35.799 And in that I rejoice. 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:37.799 That's not how I would respond. 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:40.665 This is how Paul responds. 00:24:40.665 --> 00:24:45.932 The true gospel is still going forth, forth, and I'm going to give thanks for that. 00:24:45.932 --> 00:24:48.566 I'm going to say, I'm going to walk in joy. 00:24:50.865 --> 00:24:56.066 Because Paul knows what's happening on the surface. 00:24:58.365 --> 00:25:02.165 I can't know what else God has planned. 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:05.200 And of course, that applies to Charlie Kirk's death. 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:08.200 That applies to any tragedy you face. 00:25:09.500 --> 00:25:17.965 I'm reminded of a pretty famous missionary couple, Jim and Elizabeth Elliot, they went to in the 50s, 60s. 00:25:17.965 --> 00:25:22.532 They went to Ecuador to reach tribes, there, remote tribes. 00:25:22.532 --> 00:25:24.500 And Jim was brutally murdered. 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:27.500 And a number of his friends. 00:25:27.833 --> 00:25:33.965 Elizabeth stayed to continue to reach those Indians natives. 00:25:33.965 --> 00:25:37.599 It's probably a better word to continue to reach those native tribes. 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:43.732 In fact, she ended up leading the very man who killed her husband to Christ. 00:25:45.032 --> 00:25:48.865 Now that's amazing enough in and of itself. 00:25:49.333 --> 00:25:53.432 How many of us will have the courage to do that? 00:25:53.566 --> 00:25:55.732 And so rare, I don't know that I would. 00:25:58.066 --> 00:25:58.932 But here's what else happened. 00:25:58.932 --> 00:26:01.266 They came out of Wheaton College. 00:26:01.266 --> 00:26:02.532 That's where they met. 00:26:02.532 --> 00:26:05.066 That's where they went from to become missionaries. 00:26:05.066 --> 00:26:06.566 And here's what happened at Wheaton College. 00:26:06.566 --> 00:26:08.333 You want to know what happened over the coming years? 00:26:08.333 --> 00:26:09.900 You would expect they would go. 00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:11.633 We better not go out into the jungle. 00:26:11.633 --> 00:26:12.633 It's not safe. 00:26:12.633 --> 00:26:14.432 We better pick a different career path. 00:26:14.432 --> 00:26:17.365 I think I'm going to go into engineering now instead of missions. That's okay. 00:26:17.365 --> 00:26:18.299 By the way. 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:19.532 No problem with that. 00:26:19.532 --> 00:26:31.633 You would think, though, that everyone would retreat toward safety and hundreds and hundreds of Wheaton College students, as a result of their example, said, we're going into missions. 00:26:31.633 --> 00:26:33.165 We're not playing it safe. 00:26:33.165 --> 00:26:38.133 We are emboldened to preach the Word of God without fear more boldly than ever before. 00:26:39.432 --> 00:26:43.799 And so wherever God has you and listen, it takes great wisdom to know what that means. 00:26:43.799 --> 00:26:48.133 I'm not talking about walking into work Monday and start reading off the gospel tract. 00:26:48.133 --> 00:26:51.165 Everyone in front of you that might do the opposite of what you want. 00:26:51.165 --> 00:26:56.232 It takes great wisdom to know what this means, but we don't retreat out of fear. 00:26:56.232 --> 00:27:00.900 The gospel continues to advance the mission of Christ continues to advance. 00:27:00.900 --> 00:27:03.266 Our theme for this whole series is press on. 00:27:03.266 --> 00:27:09.732 Keep praying that he would open doors for us to press on and to advance the gospel all throughout Louisville.